HINSDALE, N.H. (WWLP) – The Massachusetts State Fire Marshal has announced police will be on the lookout for fireworks, reminding people that it is illegal to possess them in the state.
However, it is legal to buy them across the border in New Hampshire. 22News visited Phantom Fireworks in Hinsdale.
That’s where Mary Bebey has been the manager for seven years and working with the company for 20. She said business is already starting to pick up for the season. Every firework sold comes with a big warning label.
“We do have salespeople on the floor that will explain how to use the fireworks plus we do have our safety pamphlet that every customer will and must get when they leave the store,” she told 22News. “We also have our safety things when we come out of the store.”
Mary said people over 21 can purchase fireworks if they show a valid ID. That ID does not need to be from New Hampshire, however, she said it is up to that person to find out the rules in the state or town where they are planning to set the fireworks off.
“It’s illegal to transport fireworks in Massachusetts. So if you buy them and bring them here, they’re not allowed,” said Captain Alex Cooley with the Greenfield Fire Department.
Cooley said fireworks can not only pose a risk to your safety but your children’s, your neighbors’, and firefighters.
“Last year alone we had an incident in Orange where there was a brush fire in rugged terrain that it took several days for firefighters from several communities to extinguish,” he said. “And last July a man in Turners Falls suffered a serious leg injury in an accident involving fireworks.”
If you are going to go up to New Hampshire and want to set off fireworks there, Captain Cooley said fireworks are still dangerous and that doesn’t change when you cross a border.
